Employment grew in January 2008

According to the Labour Force Survey of
Statistics Finland, the number of employed persons
in January was 2 480 000, or 100 000 higher than a
year earlier. In the private employer sector the number of employed
persons went up by 85 000. The number of wage and salary
earners was 94 000 higher than one year previously. The number
of employed persons went up in the provinces of Southern Finland,
Western Finland and Oulu.

In January, the employment rate , that is, the
proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at
69,3 per cent, which was 2,2 percentage points higher than one year
before. The employment rate for men went up by 3 percentage points
and was 70,7 per cent. The employment rate for women rose by 1,5
percentage points to 67,9 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and
random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 70,7 per
cent.

According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 181 000
unemployed in January 2008, i.e. 14 000 fewer
than in January of the year before. At 6,8 per cent, the
unemployment rate was 0,8 percentage points lower
than one year before. The trend of the unemployment rate was 6,4
per cent in January.

The unemployment rate was lowest in the Province of Southern
Finland, where it stood at 5,5 per cent, and highest, at 11,1 per
cent, in the Province of Eastern Finland. In January 2008, the
unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 was 17,7 per
cent, which was one percentage point lower than in the previous
year’s January. The trend of the unemployment rate among
young people was 16,1 per cent.

Changes in the labour force 2008/01–
2007/01, thousand persons

2008/01

2007/01

Change, %
2008/01 - 2007/01

Employed

2 480

2 380

4,2

Unemployed

181

195

-7,4

Labour force

2 661

2 575

3,3

Economically inactive

1 332

1 397

-4,6

Percentage points

Employment rate, %

69,3

67,1

2,2

Unemployment rate, %

6,8

7,6

-0,8

Labour force participation rate, %

66,6

64,8

1,8

Unrounded figures are used in the Change
column.
The data are collected according to the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey content and data collection have been
revised

Revisions extending the Labour Force Survey’s data content
have been implemented in the beginning of 2008. The definitions of
some concepts have also changed. The revisions are based on EU
regulations and their aim is to improve the comparability of the
Labour Force Surveys of different EU Member States.http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2008-02-19_men_001_en.html